Netflix Will Double Its Original Programming (Again) in 2017

Netflix is planning on significantly expanding its original programming offerings, with a projection to double its output of original series in 2017.

Ted Sarandos, the streaming platform's chief content officer, debuted the service's ambitious plans at the UBS Global Media & Communications Conference on Monday, telling the crowd that Netflix will soon offer approximately 1,000 hours of original programming content for subscribers -- more than double what it produced in 2016 -- adding that that benchmark was "a conservative measure right now." That push will include a $6 billion investment (in 2016, Netflix invested $5 billion in its original programming in a similar doubling-up strategy), and the streaming service hopes to eventually have 50 percent of its total offering be originals.

Unscripted programming will be Netflix's biggest focus in 2017, with the service planning about 20 new series in that category for the next calendar year. One of its splashiest new offerings will be reality competition series "Ultimate Beastmaster," which will have a global bent and feature "athletes and announcers from six different countries (the U.S., Brazil, South Korea, Mexico, Germany and Japan)," per Variety. The Biggest Loser" executive producer Dave Broome.

Sarandos cited some of Netflix's recent successes -- including "Stranger Things," "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life," and "The Crown" -- as proof of its capability of producing big, buzzy (and more importantly, financially successful) TV.

"What we try to do is take very measured swings for the fences, if that's possible," the exec said.